Harry Potter and the Burnt Badger

At this time, most students were still in class, so the corridors inevitably seemed empty, and only ghosts wandering around the campus could be seen.

However, Moon did meet Mrs. Pince on the way—yes, the librarian of the Hogwarts library.Most of the time during the day, this serious woman would not leave the library, but today happened to be an exception. She was on her way to receive a batch of newly purchased books.

Moon greeted the lady, explained why he was not in the classroom, and promised that the books he had borrowed would be returned on time. Then he said goodbye to her and walked up the stairs to the The door to the principal's office.

Chapter 24 Gargoyle

Standing in front of the confused gargoyle stone beast, Moon felt a little uncomfortable.

Professor McGonagall was so preoccupied with thinking about how to teach Arlin a lesson that she forgot to tell him the new password for Dumbledore's office. He was preoccupied with escaping from the impending execution scene as quickly as possible, and he also forgot to ask Professor McGonagall about Dumbledore's office. New password for the office.

So, just like that, he was stopped in front of the gargoyle. He saw that Professor Dumbledore's office was in the past, but he couldn't move any further.

The gargoyle stone beast was also puzzled. It didn't understand why this kid kept standing here, neither going in nor leaving, just looking at him stupidly.

Moon and the gargoyle stared at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you, neither of them spoke, they were probably waiting for the other to speak [Note 1].

After a long time, Moon gradually began to feel that this was not a problem, so he could only tentatively say to the gargoyle with great embarrassment: "Um... Professor Dumbledore asked Professor McGonagall to inform me that he hoped that I would come to see him. Him, but I forgot to ask Professor McGonagall what the password is, can you let me in?"

The gargoyle resisted the urge to blink and did not move.

It really wants to knock the silly boy in front of it on the head - you can just name any rubbish dessert, won't I let you in?Anyway, Professor Dumbledore’s passwords are these messy things every day.

Of course, Munn couldn't get the thoughts of the gargoyle. It was true that he knew Legilimency, but it didn't mean that he could read the thoughts of all things.

After waiting for a few more seconds, seeing that the gargoyle was still motionless, Moon had no choice but to scratch his head and turn to leave.Obviously, he has no good solution now but to go to Professor McGonagall.

I hope the majestic vice-principal has finished spreading his anger.

The gargoyle stone beast watched Munn go further and further, and finally couldn't help but sigh quietly in his heart, and took two steps to the side, deliberately making the sound louder so that Munn would not be able to hear it.

Munn naturally heard the movement made by the gargoyle. He looked at the behemoth in surprise, returned to the door of the principal's office, and peeked inside to make sure that Professor Dumbledore didn't suddenly want to go out on a whim. He walked around, then bowed to the gargoyle stone beast and walked up the spiral staircase.

When Munn went upstairs, the gargoyle saw that there was no one around, and couldn't help but pat his forehead with his paw. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, why are the little guys in Hogwarts so... stupid now.

…………

When he saw Professor Dumbledore, he was sitting back in his chair, holding the issue of the school newspaper with Professor Quirrell's gossip in his hand, laughing while reading it.

"Oh, Moon, you're here~" Professor Dumbledore pointed to the chair in front of the table with a smile and motioned for Moon to sit down.

Moon took a quick glance. Professor Dumbledore should be reading the section where the gossip was, or maybe even reading the gossip. In this case, it seemed from Professor Dumbledore's expression. , presumably he was not called here to give him a special scolding.

With this inference, Moon felt a little relieved.

As long as this kind of content is not enforced, then everything is fine.

Professor Dumbledore seemed to have noticed the doubts in his heart, so he said straightforwardly: "Don't worry, I didn't call you here today to teach you anything, I just want to have a chat with you - so, Moon, tell me Tell me, how did you come up with the idea of ​​making Peeves a reporter for the school newspaper? It seems to have worked well, but this picture of Peeves is a bit ugly."

"Well...actually it's just because Peeves dropped two pieces of gossip on us." Moon explained: "I realized that Peeves, who has been wandering around the school, might be a good candidate for a reporter, so I decided to I tried it with him, but I didn’t expect him to be really interested, so we decided to do it.”

"Oh? So this piece of gossip about Professor Quirrell is part of the two pieces of gossip sent by Peeves?" Professor Dumbledore looked at Moon with interest.

Moon nodded, and the thought came to him as expected, but he still answered straightforwardly: "Yes, Professor."

Dumbledore held on to the armrest and sat up straighter. Then he pushed up his glasses and looked at Moon with piercing eyes. "So, Moon, you see, I heard Professor McGonagall say that you found her before and talked to her." She said something about Professor Quirrell. When Professor McGonagall relayed this matter to me, she showed a little worry. She felt that your experience last semester made you... a little too vigilant. "

Moon tried his best to calm down, and then asked Professor Dumbledore: "So... what do you think, Professor?"

In fact, the answer is obvious. Since Professor Dumbledore asked him to come over, it meant that Professor Dumbledore wanted to have a chat with him. In other words, Professor Dumbledore would want to hear his thoughts first.

But there is a fundamental difference between what you have imagined and what Professor Dumbledore has said personally - only if you say it yourself, you will not change your words because you heard an answer you don't want to hear.

Moon was not sure how his answer would make Professor Dumbledore feel, so he still hoped that Professor Dumbledore could give an opinion first, which would also determine how he would explain to Professor Dumbledore later.

Professor Dumbledore looked into Moon's eyes for a long time before finally smiling and saying: "My thoughts? Well, Moon, I am already a very old man, which means I have seen many people and many things. . In my opinion, you don’t seem like the kind of person who would think that the next professor will still have problems just because the last professor had problems. That’s why I called you over and wanted to talk to you. But, Moon, more importantly, are you willing to talk to me.”

The wise old man closed the newspaper and gently brushed it with his hand, revealing the funny, grinning picture of Peeves. "Moon, I have seen many, many geniuses, most of them." They all have a common shortcoming - they always like to keep a lot of things in their hearts."

"So, do you want to talk, Moon? About Professor Quirrell?"

-

[Note 1] The gargoyle guarding the door of Professor Dumbledore's principal's office is probably actually self-aware and able to communicate with others, and is reflected in many details in the original work.What was especially obvious was that after the Battle of Hogwarts, before the three Harrys could even say any password, the gargoyle stepped aside and allowed them to enter the principal's office.

Chapter 25 Evidence

Looking at Professor Dumbledore in front of him, Moon had the illusion that he had been completely seen through.

He recalled some "Harry Potter" fan novels he had read in his previous life. In many works, Albus Dumbledore was re-portrayed as the "White Devil", with powerful strength, strong desire to control, and even He is so dark-minded that he uses Legilimency to spy on students' thoughts.

Moon didn't know what kind of person Albus Dumbledore was, or what kind of person Albus Dumbledore should be.But at least, at this moment, Moon knew very well that Professor Dumbledore definitely did not use Legilimency on him, nor did he have any intention of trying to figure out his thoughts in a dark direction.He felt that he had been seen through, just because of the wisdom and intelligence of the old man, because the old man saw that he had something to say, but he was hesitant.

Think about it, even if you don't mention his own talent, the years and suffering he has experienced have already given this old man enough wisdom, allowing him to have insight into people's hearts and human nature, and even think about people's thoughts.

If everything relies on magic and secret means, then how can Albus Dumbledore be the greatest wizard of our time?

Moon let out a breath and nodded towards Professor Dumbledore.

"Of course, Professor, I'd be happy to talk to you about Professor Quirrell."

Dumbledore's emotions at this moment were no less emotional than those of Moon - after Moon said these words.

Years of experience told him that children like Moon were smart and talented.This is a blessing and a training.This blessing will make them prematurely wise as they grow rapidly.

Sometimes, precocious is not a good word, especially when you're in a turbulent world.Because of this, precocious wisdom often means experiencing more and understanding more, thus becoming silent, becoming like carrying burdens, becoming prone to looking forward and backward, and missing some more important qualities, some of which are far more important to children than adults. More straightforward and courageous.

As Dumbledore himself said just now, he has seen too many geniuses in the past few years: some have become good people, some have become bad people, but invariably, they always remain silent in some places.

Because of distrust, because of lack of confidence, because of not being straightforward, because...

Because it's too smart.

So, when Moon really started chatting with him, and seemed not to even intend to hide much, Dumbledore suddenly felt a little relieved, and of course, a little sad.

I'm happy because of Moon.

Sentimental...

It's sad because what Moon is doing is exactly what he failed to do back then, and even regrets it for the rest of his life.

Yes, Albus Dumbledore has not only seen many silent geniuses, but isn't he himself a genius who upholds this kind of silence and eventually does something wrong?

His eyes involuntarily glanced at a certain photo on the table, and then he gently adjusted the position of his glasses.

Moon noticed something strange about the old man, and even felt a little sadness expressed by the old man - only a little bit, but it was so obvious in this office with only two people.

He naturally took the opportunity to adjust his sitting posture, turned his gaze elsewhere, and slowed down his speaking speed.

"Actually, Professor, I do think there is something wrong with Professor Quirrell, although I'm not sure. At first, it was just because I was a little curious about this professor and couldn't quite understand why he wanted to return to Huoke with such a stutter. Gwarts teaches." Moon sat upright and dusted off the fluff on his robe. "I find it strange that Professor Quirrell also attended Hogwarts. He should always have some predictability about the children's behavior. , that is to say, he should know that he will be easily laughed at by the students if he stutters in class."

"Mr. Hagrid told me that Professor Quirrell was a little unconfident to begin with, which made me even more surprised. Since he is an unconfident person and he can expect the students to laugh at him, then when he returns to Hogwarts Teaching seems to be completely contrary to his character."

"Of course, this was just suspicion at first." Moon cleared his throat, finished his busy work, and finally raised his head. Professor Dumbledore also began to look at him calmly, listening to his words quietly.

"But one night, I came out of the school newspaper office and bumped into Professor Quirrell, but it was very sudden. The professor acted...very panicked at that time. I am familiar with that expression. You know, I It’s... quite special to begin with.”

Moon's meaning was obvious. He was talking about his identity as a born Legilimency, and Professor Dumbledore naturally understood what he meant.

"And... every time Yaerlin secretly eats Gal's snacks, he will show that expression when asked by Gal." Moon tilted slightly again to make the atmosphere of the conversation less serious and depressing.

Professor Dumbledore laughed in agreement, and then asked Moon with interest: "What then?"

The old man was keenly aware that Moon seemed to be about to say something more important.

"Then that night, I had a dream." Moon blinked and lied.

The old man could naturally tell that he was lying, and Moon even used the blink of an eye to expose his lie - it was obviously unfair for the students to use any means to investigate the teacher, but if the dream warning came down a bit " "A small attempt", then this kind of unfairness is naturally not a big deal.

"I think I probably have a little talent for divination, and I happened to learn some divination-related knowledge during the summer vacation. The dream I had that night was that Professor Quirrell was standing in a room full of bookcases, and it wasn't In the library, he used a very weird magic to conjure up a scarlet spider. So the next day, I tried divination with a crystal ball. As a result, this scene was also revealed in the crystal ball. .”

Professor Dumbledore's expression suddenly became serious. He thought that the evidence that Moon was going to release would be common tracking and tracing... But what he didn't expect was that Moon actually used a prophecy method like divination. , and also predicted an accurate picture?

This is not a simple talent. You must know that talent in divination is very cherished, and it is no more common than those who are born with Legilimency.

"Moon, are you sure you successfully performed a divination?" the old man asked slowly and softly.

Moon nodded slightly, confirming the doubts from the principal, "Yes, Professor, I'm very sure."

Chapter 26 Promise and Thanks

"I really don't know how many more surprises you can bring me, Moon, I'm looking forward to it." Professor Dumbledore said with a smile: "You are so sure and not surprised at all. You must have read some books and you are very sure that you are Made a prophecy, right?”

"Yes, Professor, indeed."

"And, I think, judging from your appearance, maybe you have tried to predict some other things?" Professor Dumbledore asked again.

Moon continued to nod, "Yes, that's right, Professor."

"What's the success rate?"

"There is no guarantee that it will succeed every time, Professor." Moon scratched his head. This is the truth. The Motland Glass Illusion Spell does have the possibility of failure, and according to the introduction of the spell, there is even a certain chance of causing... Disaster, but the probability is very low. "But most of the time it succeeds, but some are clear and some are vague."

"It's amazing, Moon, it's amazing." Professor Dumbledore said in an admiring tone: "You know, even some well-known diviners in history may not be able to 'succeed most of the time.' It's so amazing. Your talent, that silver basswood wand, is almost a perfect match for you. It’s just—”

The old man looked at Moon and put his hands together. "——But, I still have a question. Why can Professor Quirrell stand in a room full of books and conjure a scarlet spider for you to confirm?" Does he really have a problem?"

"Because he was sneaky at the time, and the room full of books was on the eighth floor. It looked like a secret room." Moon said straightforwardly, which made Professor Dumbledore's face show a little bit. The color of understanding.

"Ha, Moon, it seems that you deceived Professor McGonagall? I remember that in Professor McGonagall's narration, you told her that you met Professor Quirrell on the eighth floor and found that he was in the Troll Rod. Wandering in front of the tapestry of beating Barnabas stupid, it looks suspicious. Now, according to you, you probably saw this scene in the crystal ball?" Professor Dumbledore narrowed his eyes with a smile, "Moon, you're cheating. It’s not a good practice to be a professor.”

Moon shrugged helplessly, "Sorry, Professor Dumbledore, I don't want this to happen, but Professor McGonagall is too serious, and I can't guarantee that if I tell her that I did a divination and saw these things, , what would she think, so I had to use a more credible statement to win her trust. I hope you can... keep it secret for me."

"Oh, of course, Munn, I'm not a snitch." The silver-haired old man winked at Munn, then pushed away the chair and stood up, walked to the cabinet, and put in the box with scattered gems embedded in it. Two glasses of pumpkin juice were poured into the beautiful cup and one of them was given to Moon. "Well, let me guess, after making the prediction, you reported it to Professor McGonagall, and within two days you received another message from Pippi. This makes you believe that Professor Quirrell has his own agenda, so you try to invite Peeves to be a reporter so that you can use Peeves' reputation to publish an article about Professor Quirrell in the school newspaper. gossip."

"In this way, neither Professor McGonagall nor I can easily blame you for this gossip, because this is gossip that Peeves swears to ensure is true. Even if you want to blame, the primary responsible party should be a fool. Peeves, after all, we have never said before that gossip about professors is not allowed to be published in the school newspaper."

"But, aren't you worried that if Professor Quirrell really has a problem, this gossip will alert the snake?" Professor Dumbledore stood in front of the window, took a sip of the pumpkin juice in the cup, and then put the cup down with satisfaction. On the windowsill.

Moon shook his head, "Of course not, Professor. If Professor Quirrell is really frightened by this gossip, the worst result is that he feels pressure and becomes more cautious in doing things. But the pressure is making him cautious." At the same time, it may also make it easier for him to reveal more tricks under pressure. And if it is the other two results, he gives up or escapes, then I think both will be good results."

"Oh? It seems that rather than catching Professor Quirrell, you would rather prevent the danger from happening?"

"Of course, Professor."

"Very good, I have no problem, Moon. In addition, I think you must be ready to show me your divination demonstration?" Professor Dumbledore tapped his fingers on the cup unconsciously. He seems to be thinking about something.

Moon nodded and responded: "Yes, Professor, but not today. Can I demonstrate it to you over the weekend?"

"No problem, Moon, I think I happen to be free this weekend - to be fair, do you have any questions you want to ask me before I leave?"

Moon thought for a while and asked: "Professor, you don't seem to be surprised at all about the secret room on the eighth floor that Professor Quirrell entered?"

"Yes, Moon, I know that place. It is indeed a secret room, but it is... a very interesting secret room." Dumbledore turned around and smiled at Moon pretending to be mysterious. "As for how interesting it is. I think it will be more fun for you to discover it yourself in the future."

This answer didn't sound very reliable, but it was indeed very Dumbledore. Moon complained helplessly in his mind. Fortunately, he already knew the secret of the Room of Requirement, and this was not his real problem, just an ordinary question. It's just a matter of showing off.

He then asked the second question, which was also the question he wanted to ask the most, "Do you know the spell Professor Quirrell used at that time? The one that turned out to be a blood-red spider?"

Professor Dumbledore did not answer Moon immediately, but was silent for a while, and then said slowly: "I'm afraid, I don't know, or to be more precise, I dare not say for sure. You know, Moon, spells and magic are very magical and extensive knowledge. There are all kinds of strange spells in the world. Even though I have lived for many years, I have only understood the tip of the iceberg. Just from your description. , it’s hard for me to know too much, but maybe when I see the picture you divined, I will know what the specific spell is.”

This answer did not surprise Moon. After all, Professor Dumbledore was right. With such a vague description, even he himself could think of several magics that could achieve similar effects.Therefore, asking this question is more of just trying your luck.

"Thank you, Professor, I have no other questions." Moon drank the pumpkin juice, stood up and said goodbye to Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, then go back to class quickly, Moon, I think you can still catch up on the last minute."

Moon responded, turned around and walked out of the office. When he reached the door, the old man stopped him again.

"Thank you, Moon. In addition, no matter what you discover or encounter, remember to protect yourself and those important and innocent people."

Chapter 27 Flying Fig

The warning in Professor Dumbledore's words was already obvious.

It is indeed a good way to anger Professor Quirrell, but beware of him jumping over the wall in a hurry.

There is another implicit meaning in this statement - Professor Dumbledore will not deal with Professor Quirrell until he is sure that Professor Quirrell is indeed evil.This is also reasonable. No matter how problematic a person seems to be, it is not a reason to punish him. Only when he really exceeds the rules and laws is the time to arrest him.

When he left Professor Dumbledore's office and returned to the History of Magic class, Arlin was sitting upright, copying something.Moon reported to the portrait of Professor Binns, then returned to his seat and quietly glanced at Arlin's notebook.

Oh my god, Arlin is actually copying the blackboard writing from the History of Magic class.

It's just unbelievable.

After sitting down on the seat, Moon bumped Cedric's arm and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong with Arlin?"

Cedric smiled secretly and also lowered his voice very low. "Professor McGonagall not only punished him with solitary confinement, but also warned him that if he gets a P or lower in the History of Magic class in the next exam, he will be punished." All the portraits of Professor Binns must be wiped clean."

"Pfft...cough cough cough!" Moon just took out a leftover fig from his bag and took a bite into his mouth. He was so surprised by what Cedric said that he choked himself and coughed violently.